Taiwanese officials stopped Taiwan’s team from showing the national flag at sports event

Taiwanese officials stopped Taiwan’s team from showing the national flag at sports event

2023-07-30

Taiwanese athletes are often barred from showing their national flag at international sporting events due to pressure from Beijing, but not this time. At the 2023 World Police and Fire Games being held in Canada, the pressure came from within. Taiwan’s team was told by its own officials that they couldn’t show their flag during the opening ceremony. One official said this was because of a tacit understanding with the games’ organizers. But a firefighter from Taoyuan denies this, saying all flags are acceptable at the competition. Regardless of who is right, Taiwan’s team members brought the flag with them to the podium after winning three golds and four silvers in bodybuilding and wrestling.

Su Chen-lung
National Police Agency
There is a tacit understanding that we had reached with the event’s Canadian organizers. Our colleagues who participated at their own expense probably didn’t understand the processes involved.

Huang Yu-min
Taoyuan City Fire Department
It’s a total lie. Since 2009, the organizers haven’t followed the model used by the Olympics – they have turned a blind eye to it. We wrote to the organizers, and the response we got from them is that every flag is permitted. So, any flag could be used.

Cheng Wen-tsan
Vice premier
Regardless of who you are, athletes who joined the competitions at their own expense or our fellow compatriots, carrying our national flag into international competitions, and fighting for the highest honor is a good thing.

Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang also responded to the incident through a Facebook post, telling the officials leading the Taiwanese team to freely show the national flag during the competition. Meanwhile, a picture from the competition’s official Instagram account does show Taiwan’s team posing with the national flag after arriving at the Winnipeg airport. The flag was also on display when Taiwan participated in the competition last year in the Netherlands.

官員阻世界警消運動會秀國旗? 林右昌:免顧慮拿出來

2023-07-30

在加拿大舉行的世界警消運動會，我國4位好手在第一天的健美和摔角比賽，就奪下3金4銀的好成績，並帶著國旗站上頒獎台。不過在28號的開幕式上，6名桃園市消防局請假自費參賽的選手，卻爆料遭到警政署官員阻止展示國旗。

[[警政署教育組組長蘇振龍]]
“是我們跟加拿大主辦方事前協調的默契，自費參賽消防同仁可能不了解過程”

[[桃園市消防局消防員黃郁閔]]
“是通篇謊話，2009年之後，早就沒有在理會這個什麼奧會模式，而且官方都已經睜一隻眼閉一隻眼，我們寫信給官方，官方的回覆都是，Every flag is permit，所有旗子都是可以使用的”

[[行政院副院長鄭文燦]]
“我們自費參加的選手也好，我們國人同胞也好，在國際比賽的場合，帶著國旗爭取最高榮譽是一件好事”

內政部長林右昌也在臉書發表聲明，已經要求代表團，賽事進行時不用顧慮，把國旗拿出來。事實上，世界警察運動會的官方IG就PO出一張，台灣隊抵達機場，全員拿著國旗合影的照片。而去年在荷蘭辦的警消運動會，我國國旗也是拿好拿滿。

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To get into the finals, the pair had to get past world number one, Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. After routing them in two straight sets, they were able to sustain their winning momentum in the finals. Whether hitting or dashing, the pair put on a show on the court. Although the Japanese team actively fought back in the second half, tying the score at one point, the pair kept up their strong attack to take the game point, finally winning the first game 21:19.

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The win effectively ended a two-year dry spell of zero championship titles for the pair, who couldn’t hold back their excitement on the court. Wang and Lee came out of a slump and reached the finals for the first time after their loss at the finals of the Taipei Open last year. The win at the Japan Open is not only their first win of the year, but also their first win since their victory at the Tokyo Olympics.

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Spotlight on Taiwanese-Australian singer and songwriter Kim Yang

Today we take you to meet Taiwanese-Australian singer and songwriter Kim Yang. Her music career began in 2009 after auditioning for Taiwan’s "Super Idol." Since then, she has performed in many countries, sharing her stories and experiences. Her next concert will be in Taipei on Aug.11. FTV reporter Stephany Yang caught up with the singer-songwriter to discover the inspiration behind her songs.

This is Kim Yang, a Taiwanese-Australian indie folk singer-songwriter. Many of her songs are about human vulnerability and strength. The song "Brave" hopes to inspire people to say "no" and not be afraid to set healthy boundaries.

Kim Yang
Singer-songwriter
"Brave" is a song that I wrote after I had a mental meltdown. As an emerging artist, I had to say yes to a lot of things, a lot of jobs even though I did not want to do them at all. I guess I just tried so hard to get my name out there. I wrote this song after a mental meltdown, and I realized that I really need to be brave enough to say "no," to look after myself. I hope that people can do that too, especially for young women in any industry, really.

Yang lived in Taiwan till she was 24. Since she was young, she was always passionate about music. She auditioned for Taiwan’s "Super Idol" in 2009 but didn’t start singing full-time until she moved to Canberra.

This song written by Yang is titled "Fantasy," and it’s dedicated to her parents.

Kim Yang
Singer-songwriter
To be honest, my parents were kind of reserved about me doing music full-time. At the time, when I told them about doing music full-time, they were really shocked. They were like, "How are you going to feed yourself? Do you have enough money?" I love Taiwan and I love my parents. Sometimes there are a bit of cultural differences. I probably learned a lot from Australia as well. This song "Fantasy" is really about me fantasizing about a bit more love and validation from my parents for me to be a musician.

Yang moved to Canberra in 2012, where she worked many different jobs. In 2017, she started writing songs in hopes of sharing her stories with the world. She busked around Canberra and performed in markets and cafes.

Kim Yang
Singer-songwriter
When I was in my late 20s, I had some regret I guess because I used to be on a TV show back in Taiwan here. It is called "Super Idol 3." I almost got a contract but I didn’t accept the recording contract. There was always "what ifs" in my life. What if tried? What if I give it a go? I did give it a go in my late 20s. Now, I have been performing since 2017. I got my own band, my own shows, sellout shows, and played in music festivals in Australia as well.

Since then, she has written numerous original songs and collaborated with renowned local artists, and played at major venues in Australia and around the world.

This original song by Yang, "Missed Chance," is a tribute to a young fan who encouraged her to keep pursuing music.

Kim Yang
Singer-songwriter
A little young girl she saw me on the TV show and she wrote me an email. I knew she was really sick. She had chemotherapy. Her mom wrote an email for her saying "Hey, my daughter really loved your music. Can you keep doing more music?" At that time, I gave up music after the TV show because I think I was only 19 or 20 because I got sad being criticized because once you get your name out there, there is always different noise. I was frustrated with the music. I didn’t want to do anything. I didn’t respond until three years later, but that email address became disconnected. I never knew how she is, whether she was still there or not and whether she recovered from chemotherapy. I also wrote a song to thank her.

With many new songs in the works, Yang hopes to continue singing and writing music to inspire more people to chase their dreams and share their stories.

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Several countries including the U.S., South Korea, Australia and Italy, among others, have already allowed Taiwanese to use e-Gate for entry. Now the Czech Republic has become the ninth country to allow automated entry through the system. With direct flights and e-Gate in place, Taiwan and the Czech Republic are now brought even closer together, paving the way for expanded exchanges between the two countries.

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Since global borders reopened, international travel is booming – and so is demand for private experiences at destinations and connection with local culture. Now a tech company has developed a system for that niche, enabling travel agents to easily take highly personalized bookings.

Yang Ching-tang
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Compared to the big tour groups of the past, customized travel certainly is better at meeting each traveler’s image of their trip, or their hopes and expectations. So we want to provide digital tools and digital solutions for travel companies, so they have a chance to align with the market here.

Entering the system, you open a new request, and search for itinerary options. At the end, a cost estimate is produced, and before long, a customized booking is complete.

Chang Ya-lin
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Having to make bookings at many hotels and destinations and things like that actually really adds to the workload of the tour operators. Using this system, it can produce a booking form automatically, very fast, after you’ve created an itinerary.

Traditionally, part of a travel agent’s job is to manually complete booking forms, and phone up each business on the itinerary to confirm costs and details. But at least half of that work is skipped with this system, with imports elements from a database. It can take a half or just a third of the time to complete.

Lien Pei-ling
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Copying it down manually can take five or 10 minutes or even more. But the system produces it with one click in two or three seconds.

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a dentist scans the patient’s mouth with a tiny camera. In real time, a 3D model appears on the computer screen. These days, a set of dentures can be made in one day. Dentists work with dental technicians to immediately 3D print the new dentures in the clinic.

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The image is magnified again and again. Every corner of the mouth is clear. The model can forecast how the jaws will meet in a bite. After the technician has designed a denture, the ceramics are put into a grinder and cut into shape in about six minutes.

Voice of Hsieh Yi-hsun
CAD/CAM engineer
The teeth which are cut for us by the machine are about 80% finished. Then they need to be worked on in post by the technician.

It’s the technician’s time to shine. They correct the grain on the dentures’ surface in 10 minutes. A photo is used to dye them in another 10 minutes, mimicking the translucence of tooth enamel. Finally they go in a high-temperature ceramics oven to fix the color.

Hsieh Yi-hsun
CAD/CAM engineer
Compared to the traditional method, mistakes are likely to be smaller. We can complete a single molar in about half an hour, including the design and processing. If we need to do a full set of 28 teeth for the patient, it’s no problem to finish it all in one day.

Lin Yu-shu
Dentist
Some older people may be infirm, and it’s inconvenient for them to come into the clinic. We can now complete the dentures for them in one day. Traditionally, for example, there might be issues with the fitting and we would have to send the dentures back to the technicians.

In the past, dentures would be made by hand in a technical workshop. It would take about two weeks, and longer if adjustments were needed. But with a 3D printer, it just takes one day and is all done on the spot in the clinic, increasing efficiency and reducing errors. The only catch is the cost.

Liu Sung-ho
Industrial Technology Research Institute
Digital design and 3D printing basically use the same materials as traditional methods, or even better. Now we’re bringing titanium alloys into various applications. Compared to traditional metals, it’s lighter in weight but stronger.

As Taiwan’s population ages, demand for dentures is always growing. These digital technologies can make the production of false teeth easier and swifter, and give patients more options.

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